Gold Ten Kilos 2022 Czech Lion, Coin from Niue - detailed information

Niue, a sovereign state in free association with New Zealand, uses two official legal tender currencies. The New Zealand Dollar is the circulation currency for daily transactions, while the government also authorises legal tender coins in the Niue Dollar currency for collector's purposes.

A number of mints issue a large variety of coins under the authority of Niue. Most of these are commemorative and collector issues dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to Niue itself. Others are bullion coins in sizes based on the troy ounce, or metric - including the enormous ten kilograms of gold format - such as this coin.

This coin is part of the Czech Lion series of bullion coins issued every year by the Czech Mint with a new design.

The Mint says about it:
The world's bullion coins used to be dedicated to strong national symbols, and the Czech Lion, the first coin of its kind minted in the Czech Republic, is no exception. The weight of the unique gold coin of the Czech Mint with the year 2022, which bears a unique security hologram, is ten kilograms.

High-mass coins with a hologram are minted using a special hydraulic press that was designed specifically for this purpose. This is the only machine of its kind in the world - no other press has such a configuration and technical parameters. The Czech Mint had to build a special workplace for it due to its size and considerable weight.

The principle of production of high-mass coins does not differ from the procedure used in the minting of their smaller siblings. But everything is of course bigger, heavier and more demanding. While a normal punch weighs around one-half kilogram, the weight of punches intended for the production of record coins is calculated in the tens of kilograms. These tools take days to machine. The forces involved in minting giant coins are astronomical - the press exerts the same pressure as if you stacked a couple of thousand cars on top of each other.

Although the Czech Lions are primarily bullion coins, their artistic qualities are unquestionable. The author is the young artist Asamat Baltaev, who is one of the brightest stars of the Czech medal scene. His work stands out for its extraordinary details and height of relief.